[American Quilter]

Wow, really? Do you have a cochlear (sp?) implant, or are you totally without any kind of aural capability? (Just ignore me if I'm being intrusive.)

[BigSkyFreeper]

Nah, I have had CAT and MRI scans for cochlear implants, but my hearing is "good" enough that I am not a candidate for cochlear implants. There is a certain threshold which ear specialists abide by, and I haven't crossed over that threshold, even though I have 80% hearing loss. (basically deaf).

What I do have are powerful digital hearing aids. The "in the ear" hearing aids advertised on TV would be worthless to someone like me.

I've basically got hearing aids with the computing power of a 2 GHz desktop computer that cost $4500 each. I couldn't afford paying for both, so my folks paid for one and I paid for the other.

[BigSkyFreeper]

I will say this much though. Rush has been an inspiration for me. Before hearing of Rush's experience with implants, I was scared of the thought of having implants. I hadn't realized how much progress has been made in implants because I know of one fellow who was actually a guinea pig for implants years ago. He talks like a robot (monotonous) because to him, that's normal. I say "robot" because that's the best way to describe how he talks. He's had his implants for about as long as I've had hearing aids.